Astronomers star-gaze into their future

THE Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council speculates in its "road map" for the future that within ten years fundamental questions such as the origins of mass and the nature of dark matter should be accessible. But for the United Kingdom to remain a leader in these fields, the trend that has seen funding of PPARC science fall by 17 per cent since the mid-1980s must be halted. A copy of the road map is available from Andrew le Masurier at PPARC on Andrew_LeMasurier@pparc.ac.uk.